Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Chip Stephens Trio: Relevancy

Every time I turn around, a
swinging new trio has entered the jazz stage (and I wouldn’t have it any other
way!). One of the newest is this pleasant combo led by pianist, composer and
arranger Chip Stephens. He’s well known in the jazz world, having played
with iconic groups associated with Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Maynard
Ferguson, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller and many others.

All told, Stephens has
recorded as a sideman on more than 70 albums. As it happens, I reviewed
him on Fuller’s 2010 release, I Will Tell Her; I
was impressed then, and even more so here, with Stephens fronting his own trio.

Like many of today’s jazz
musicians, Stephens also is a teacher — currently at the University of Illinois
— with more than 15 years’ experience at the college level. He maintains a
full schedule of performance and teaching.

Bassist Dennis Carroll and
drummer Joel Spencer provide Stephens with excellent support on this release,
which includes three of his own compositions: “Somewhere Before
the End,” “A Day in May” and
“Chip’s Blues.”
The trio also puts its stamp on “34 Skidoo,” one of Bill Evans’ charts; Rogers and Hart’sseldom-heard “This Funny World”; and
Sammy Cahn and Nicholas Brodzsky’s “Be My Love,” which Mario Lanza made famous.

Just in passing, I
never expected the latter to be done in a jazz mode.

All the tracks are
delightful, done with harmonic variations and chord changes that give them new
lives. My favorite is “Chip’s Blues,” a catchy, groovin’ 12-bar piece that is
impossible to hear without swingin’ in time to the melody.

Stephens is one
hell of a pianist, and this unit is a “must listen to” group!